A great white shark travels from South Africa to Australia and back in just nine months.
Researchers have discovered that a great white shark has crossed the Indian Ocean. The shark travelled from South Africa to Australia and back again in a marathon journey that took only nine months.
The female shark, named Nicole - after Australian shark-lover, Nicole Kidman - was tagged by conservationists who are studying great white migrations. The data will be used to help protect the species from extinction.
"We suspect that she went for reproductive reasons," said Dr Ramon Bonfil of the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York, US. Bonfil and colleagues were stunned by the epic journey which is unparralleled among fish.
Nicole's route was very direct and she spent only a brief period in Australian waters. Considering only 20 sharks have been observed and tagged by the researchers, it is very likely that long migrations could be common behaviour.
The danger of such epic journeys is that the sharks will be vulnerable to long-line fishing and stray into waters where they have no protection.
